Top 5 Health Benefits of Fiber

1. Lowers Cholesterol Levels

Cholesterol is a substance in your body meant to help your body digest food. However, too much cholesterol can lead to a buildup of plaque in your arteries and can potentially lead to disease. Soluble fiber can help to lower the high levels of cholesterol in your body and prevent any harm to your health while also keeping your heart healthy.

2. Helps You Lose Weight

Fiber keeps our bodies feeling full for longer periods of time. This means eating more fiber may keep you from eating more by keeping you satisfied. Higher levels of fiber provide more volume to food this way you take longer to eat and consume fewer calories.

3. Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

Fiber helps to reduce levels of blood sugar in the body by slowing the rate at which your body absorbs sugar into blood. Studies show that high fiber diets greatly decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes while diets with lots of low-fiber foods greatly increase the risk.

4. Helps Digestion

Fiber is widely known to help prevent constipation in the body. It assists in creating a natural movement through the bowels by softening and bulking your stool. Fiber helps to keep your digestive tract healthy; diets with low fiber may lead to increased chances of constipation and may damage your colon.

5. Prevents Disease

Along with preventing type 2 diabetes, studies show that fiber helps prevent cancer and coronary heart disease. Fiber has also been found to help lower risk of death from respiratory, infectious, and cardiovascular diseases. The same study shows that high intake of fiber may increase cognition, positive mood, and mental alertness--leading to a healthier and happier life.

Fiber keeps you feeling fuller longer and may extend your lifespan as well. You may be wondering what fiber even is. Continue reading to learn more about dietary fiber.

What is Fiber?

Fiber is a substance found in plants, but dietary fiber is a carbohydrate found in many different foods. Dietary fiber is an important part of every dietary tract with numerous health benefits that are essential for your body.

There are two forms of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Both are beneficial to your health--but are found in different foods.

Soluble fiber can be found in the following foods:

• Oats
• Peas
• Nuts
• Beans
• Fruits

Insoluble fiber can be found in the following foods:

• Wheat
• Whole wheat products
• Tomatoes
• Brown rice
• Cauliflower
• Potatoes

You should incorporate a range of foods with high amounts of each fiber into your diet. With that being said, there are also some foods that don’t have high levels of fiber you may want to avoid.

Low Fiber Foods to Avoid

Here are some foods that are lower in fiber:

• Canned fruits/vegetables
• Non-whole-grain cereals
• Red meat
• Dairy products
• White bread
• White pasta

You may want to consider decreasing your consumption of these foods in order to improve your digestion and lower cholesterol.

Kate’s Real Food puts your health first, which is why each of our organic energy bars is filled with delicious natural ingredients to help get you through your day in the best way possible. You can find nutritious nuts, fruits, and complex carbohydrates all filled with fibers in our healthy snack bars. Find your favorite flavor today and keep your diet fiber-full to keep you active and happy.